vinyarb

Thanks to all the celebrities doing it the past few weeks, you must have heard of the ALS Ice Bucket challenge by now. Celebrities have taken the challenge by storm, and in the process, helped raise awareness and fundraise for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), a progressive neurological degenerative disease for which there is currently no cure.

A quick search on ALS ice bucket challenge will yield you videos ranging from Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Chris Pratt, Jimmy Fallon, Taylor Swift, Chloe Grace Moretz and many more taking the challenge, and in turn issuing their challenge to keep the viral factor going.

Here’s Chris Pratt

Bill Gates (as challenged by Mark Zuckerberg)

And here’s Lady Gaga doing the challenge the only way she knows how (creepily)

I think using the power of celebrity to raise awareness, and raise funds to fight ALS is brilliant.

Not to take anything away from this campaign, and I may be (or probably am) totally off-base here, but I’d like to bring to your attention another deadly and rare disease.

Multiple System Atrophy (MSA)

Multiple System Atrophy, like ALS, is a neurological degenerative disorder. Like ALS, there isn’t currently a cure, and likewise, the prognosis is poor. ALS affects roughly 2 in 100,000 people. MSA roughly 4.6 in 100,000 people. It’s been almost 2 years since my mother was taken by MSA, and experiencing firsthand how debilitating this disease is, I really hope for a breakthrough in finding a cure for this horrible disease.

Taken apart, they’re both considered rare, but together, their fatality rate makes one sit up and take notice. I may be simplifying things, but since both are neurological degenerative diseases with similar symptoms and conditions, will a breakthrough in one study help with research in the other?

Is it worth thinking about pooling efforts, sharing research and working through this together?

Update: Here’s a bonus. Lotame’s very own VP of Client Success Zach Boisi getting iced!